Landbased Mariculture

LANDBASED MARICULTURE

We suspect that living in the true harmony with the natural world, in a manner sustainable over the long run, is something no modern human society has yet learned how to do.

The survival of the natural world, however, and likely our survival as a species, depends on our learning to this.

It will be a unique experience in human history.

(Bock und Bock 2000)

BLUE EVOLUTION

When vertebrates first made the move to land, it was a decisive step in the history of life, because since then, life hasn't left the continents. Technological evolution is now following a biological evolution. This time it's not the seafish, who are moving to land - it's the ocean itself.

In the last few decades, over the course of the worldwide overfishing, aquaculture developed into an alternative to cover the increasing human demand for fish. Every second fish eaten in the world already originates from farmed production. Currently marine aquaculture is operated exclusively in coastal areas, which causes extensive problems, such as the discharge of waste and nutrients, the escape of farmed fish or the transmission of diseases to wild stocks. Furthermore, also conflicts of interests with other users lead to a constant discussion about the sustainability of this technology.

For the first time the oceanloop, developed by neomar, allows the inland production of seafish without access to natural seawater. It is an alternative to conventional fish farming in open water aquaculture systems. The specially produced seawater is continuously circulated and recycled. The water loss and the impact on the environment are minimal.

The oceanloop is isolated from the environment and is optimally adjusted to the needs of farmed species. The year-round controlled conditions lead to a standardized product quality. Regular stocking intervals ensure the availability of fresh fish on a permanent basis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INNOVATION 5

PARADIGM SHIFT 5 TECHNOLOGY 6 PRODUCT DIVERSITY 14 MATERIAL CYCLES 15

ADVANTAGES 16

CONTROLLED PRODUCTION 17 CONSUMER PROXIMITY 17 FLEXIBILITY 18

SUSTAINABILITY 19

RESOURCE USE 19 NUTRIENT RECYCLING 21 CONSERVATION 22

REFRENCES 24

MARINE AQUARIUMS 24 RESEARCH &DEVELOPMENT 25 MARINE FISHFARM VÖLKLINGEN 26 IMPRINT 27

INNOVATION

For the first time the innovative oceanloop allows the inland production of seafish independent of natural seawater.

PARADIGM SHIFT

Already 30% of commercially-used fish stocks in the world's oceans are overfished. Further 50% are on the verge of overfishing.

The constantly growing demand for fish, at the same time as the fishing yield is stagnating or declining, leads to considerably increasing prices. Since 1990 the retail price index for fish and seafood in Germany has been growing on average about 2% per year. Hence, the price increase rate is twice as high as it is for meat, fruit or vegetables.

Price Price increase in% 0 -10 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

In the last few decades aquaculture developed into an alternative to cover the increasing human demand for fish. In the last decades marine aquaculture (mariculture) has grown at an average of 9% per year. Considering the rising demand for fish and the over-exploitation of global fish stocks, a further growth of mariculture is not in doubt. However, the growth of conventional mariculture

systems along the coasts will be limited and the future demand can be only satisfied by new concepts and technologies.

Also the increasing worldwide water pollution of coastal areas due to urbanization leave doubts about the future of open water aquaculture.

Therefore, a paradigm shift is taking place in aquaculture. The ecological risk of open water aquaculture is leading to technological development, which will replace the simplicity of many farm types by modern aquatic biotechnology. These systems are based on sophisticated water and material cycles and reduce the impact of aquaculture on the environment.

With the oceanloop, developed by neomar, the inland production of seafish and other marine organisms becomes reality. It is an alternative to conventional fish farming in open water aquaculture systems.

The oceanloop is the result of a further development of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) to an almost completely closed water circulation. This enables the inland production of marine organisms for the first time.

TECHNOLOGY

Within the oceanloop there are a primary and several secondary water circulations. The main function of the primary water circulation is to transport the excrements of the fish, as fecal matter and dissolved nutrients, to the water treatment unit as

fast as possible, in order to specifically remove them from the water. The function of the secondary circulations is to concentrate the removed excrements to such a degree that as little water as possible is lost from the primary circulation. The water renewal rate is less than 1% of the system volume per day.

Regarding the profitability of fish farming the operating costs are of particular importance, whereby the energy consumption represents a significant part. Therefore, the energy efficiency was in the main focus of technology development.

The oceanloop works, in contrast to many other recirculating aquaculture systems, with almost the same water level and without piping in the components of primary water circulation. By this, pressure losses are minimized in such a way, that energy- efficient flow pumps can be used. Furthermore, a sophisticated component design leads to synergies between the different units of water treatment and improves the overall filter efficiency of the system.

Figure 1 – Schematic production unit

Figure 2 – Flow chart of the primary water cycle (blue) and the secondary water cycles (grey)

PRIMARY WATER CYCLE

In the first step the effluent water from the fish basins is treated by a mechanical filtration (drum filter) to separate the coarse solids. Afterwards, the water flow is separated. One part is pumped into the skimmer to remove the fine suspended solids. The other part is pumped directly into the nitrifying biofilter for the biological treatment. A degasser is placed over the biofilter in order to remove the carbon dioxide. Thus, a part of the water flow is pumped into the biofilter via the degasser. Before the water enters the fish basins, it is cleaned again by a meachanical filtration (drum filter). The denitrifying biofilter operates in a bypass with a relatively small water flow.

SECONDARY WATER CYLCES

The goal of the secondary water cycles is a further concentration of the removed solids. In order to backwash the mechanical filters water from the primary water

cycle is used. This backwash water dilutes the removed solids and leads to a water loss in the primary water cycle. Within the secondary water cycles a substantial part of this water can be recaptured by several process steps. Thus, the water losses are redcued from 15-20% to less than 1% of the systems water volume per day. This technological development was a crucial step to allow marine aquaculture on land, as the costs for the renewal of artificial seawater could be redcued as much as possible.

WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

In the water treatment system particulate and dissoveld excretions of the fish are removed by mechanical, biological and chemical process steps in order to maintain a tolerable water quality for the farmed species.

SOLID SEPARATION

The water quality, particularly the concentration of suspended solids, is a decisive factor to produce flavorful fish. In conventional systems fish feces, food remains and bacteria pollute the water, so that it has to be changed continually. In contrast, the oceanloop technology enables separation of all suspended solids. This is achieved by two different solid separation processes.

Studies have shown that there is no technology, which removes the entire size spectrum of suspended solids efficiently and completely as possible. Therefore the oceanloop combines mechanical separation (drum filter) and boundary surface filtration (skimmer).

The mechanical separation primarily removes coarse solids from the water. The size of separated solids depends on the mesh size of the filter panels. The filter panel is backwashed from time to time, whereby the solids are collected in the backwash water. Generally drum filters with a mesh size of 50-100µm are used in the oceanloop.

Fine suspended solids (<50µm) are removed by a skimming process (foam fractionation). In a skimmer extremely fine air bubbles are injected into the water. The boundary surface between air bubble and water layer acts as filter material for surface active substances, such as protein compounds. The fine suspended solids dock at these compounds and are transported towards the water surface together with the air bubbles. At the water surface they form so-called waste foam, which is rinsed by a patented self-cleaning system. In addition, the process of skimming increases the oxygen concentration in the water and carbon dioxide is stripped effectively.

NITRIFYING BIOFILTER

Fish excretes a number of metabolic end products, especially ammonia nitrogen. It is the end product of protein metabolism. Ammonia can be toxic in very low concentration and must therefore be removed continuously from the water. The most widespread method for removing ammonia is biological nitrification, where bacteria oxidize ammonia via nitrite to non-toxic nitrate.

In the oceanloop floating plastic media are used, which provide a maximum colonization surface area for the bacteria. This filter type achieves very high filter efficiency per unit of volume, while at the same time offering process stability. In addition the biofilter oxidizes dissolved and particulate organic substances, which are not removed by the solid separation. This process is called mineralization. This process impairs the nitrification capacity of the biofilter. Therefore, an effective solid separation is essential.

DENITRIFYING BIOFILTER

Nitrate is formed during the nitrification of ammonia. This leads to an increase of nitrate in the water. Although nitrate is not acute toxic to fish, even in high

I10

concentrations, it has to be removed, especially in recirculating aquaculture systems. At higher concentrations nitrate impairs the osmoregulation of fish.

Nitrate is removed in an anaerobic denitrification process in which heterotrophic bacteria convert nitrate into gaseous nitrogen. In contrast to the nitrifying biofilter the denitrification operates in a bypass of the total water flow and without aeration. Furthermore, the denitrifying bacteria require a carbon source which is dosed in liquid form (e.g. methanol or acetic acid). The process of denitrification in the oceanloop is an in-house development of neomar.

CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL

The respiration of fish, as well as heterotrophic bacteria, increases the carbon dioxide concentration in the water. Excessive concentrations lead to an acidification of fish blood, due to the fact that carbon dioxide cannot be released efficiently from the gills. This impairs the oxygen uptake of the fish. Thus, the fish becomes inactive and stops feed intake. Ineffective feeding negatively influences the fish health, as well as the productivity of the system.

The constant removal of carbon dioxide is therefore an important unit of the water treatment. In the oceanloop carbon dioxide is essentially removed by a trickling filter. The water is pumped flat over a solid substrate in such a way, that the boundary surface between the water and the air is as large as possible. The carbon dioxide diffuses following the concentration gradient out of the water into the air. This physical process is supported by strong ventilation. The exhaust air is transported directly outside. In addition to the trickling filter also other units of the water treatment remove carbon dioxide. In general, this pertains to all units which are aerated, as the skimmer or the insertion of liquid oxygen. For this reason, the trickling filter works with a relatively low head. This reduces the energy demand of the pumps used.

DISINFECTION

The control of pathogens is of great importance for fish health in recirculating aquaculture systems. However, in order to maintain a biological vital system, the goal is not a complete sterilization. In fact, pathogens have to be controlled at a tolerable level for the fish.

In the oceanloop ozone is used, due to its broad spectrum of antiseptic activity. By an accurate dosage of low amounts of ozone into the skimmer many pathogens can be inactivated. At the same time, the activity of the bacterial community in the biofilter is preserved. Our experiences during operation have even shown, that the biofilter profits from the use of ozone. Over time biologically non-degradable compounds cumulate in recirculating aquaculture systems. These compounds form the so-called chemical oxygen demand (COD). Ozone pre-oxidizes these compounds in a manner, that they can be further processed by bacteria in the

I11

biofilter. Therefore, the use of ozone results in a slight increase of the biological oxygen demand (BOD), which is finally reduced in the biofilter.

The biologically non-degradable compounds include humic and fulvic acids, which cause a yellow turbidity. Ozone oxidizes these compounds to ensure high water clarity. In addition, ozone supports a clustering of tiny colloidal solids. This process is called flocculation. This improves the efficiency of the solid separation process, as mechanical filtration and foam fractionation (skimming). Furthermore, ozone denaturates proteins and thus supports the process of skimming.

Furthermore, ozone oxidizes compounds as the fish toxic nitrite. Therefore, it also contributes to the alleviation of sudden nitrite peaks, which can occur during an incomplete nitrification or denitrification.

WATER CONDITIONING

The physical/chemical conditioning of process water is operated by different systems. These are automatically managed by a programmable logic controller (PLC). This includes the control of oxygen, pH value, salinity and temperature.

OXYGEN SUPPLY

The oceanloop is operated with liquid oxygen. It is directly and demand-oriented dosed into the fish basins. Optical sensors continually measure the oxygen concentration. If the concentration falls below the desired value, proportional

I12

valves are opened, corresponding to the difference between the set-point and measured value. There are several methods to insert oxygen into the water. The primary decision criteria for the choice of method are the efficiency of insertion, the energy demand, the maintenance effort and a possible power-off insertion of oxygen. The methods available on the market fulfill these criteria only in parts. For this reason, we have developed an innovative method to fulfill all of these criteria.

The demand-oriented insertion of liquid oxygen allows an accurate setting of oxygen concentration. In addition, oxygen is also inserted to the system by the aeration of biofilter as well as skimming. The inserted atmospheric oxygen reduces the amount of liquid oxygen, which has been used to maintain the desired oxygen concentration.

PH REGULATION

It has already been mentioned, that the respiration of fish, as well as heterotrophic bacteria, leads to an increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the water. Thus, the pH value sinks. The removal of carbon dioxide is therefore a crucial component of pH regulation. In addition, buffering systems are required to maintain the pH value in a tolerant level for the fish, as well as the bacteria in the biofilters. The reason is primarily the release of protons during the process of biological nitrification, which also reduces the pH value. Even if this reaction is partially neutralized by the process of biological denitrification, a permanent sinking of the pH value arises in recirculating aquaculture systems. In the oceanloop lime milk is used to prevent this pH drop. Beside the neutralization of protons, the lime also reacts with the phosphate. Therefore, the use of lime milk is also important to set a tolerable phosphate concentration in the system.

The pH value is constantly monitored at various measuring points. The dosage of lime milk operates automatically, depending on the pH values measured.

ADJUSTING SALINITY

The technology of the oceanloop has been optimized in order to reduce water losses as much as possible. As a result no water is exchanged in the systems. Only water losses during the process of solid separation have to be replaced with

I13

artificial seawater. The water renewal rate is currently below 1% of the system volume per day.

Generally, the artificial seawater is produced from tap water and a mixture of various salts. The composition and the concentration of seawater are adjusted individually, depending on the water quality on-site and the species produced.

The mixing of sea salt and water is done in a special tank, supported by an intensive aeration. After that the brine is diluted with additional water and pumped to a storage tank. From there, the seawater can be used on demand automatically or manually.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL

A significant advantage of recirculating aquaculture systems is the fish production at year-round constant and optimal temperatures. This allows considerably shortened production cycles and therefore increases the productivity of the system. To adjust the optimal temperature the supply of heat or cold is required, depending on the location, the farmed fish species, the type of building and the season. As a rule, the supply of cold is related to higher operating costs. In contrast, low-price waste heat is available in many locations. In the scope of system planning the climate management is of crucial importance.

PRODUCT DIVERSITY

A significant advantage of the oceanloop is the possibility of producing fish species independent of their natural distribution area.

This advantage is a unique selling point in comparison to open water aquaculture systems. They are dependent on geographical and climatic condition of their respective locations. In Europe the production of tropical species is therefore only possible in recirculating aquaculture systems. Considering the discussion about carbon footprint, particularly for air-shipping of fresh fish, and the fact that low- cost waste heat is available at many locations, tropical exotic species offer a promising future potential. Therefore, the introduction of new species is in the

I14

focus of our research and development. At the moment the following fish genera have a good future potential: Grouper (Epinephelus), Snapper (Lutjanus), Cobia (Rachycentrum), Barramundi (Lates) and Kingfish (Seriola).

Furthermore, the oceanloop offers the possibility to produce up to four different fish species, as it consists of four independent recirculating aquaculture systems. The diversification of the product portfolio minimizes the economic risk and increases the acceptance of the market.

MATERIAL CYCLES

The neomar technology supports the utilization of waste and remaining nutrients. This is possible, due to the low water renewal rate of less than 1% of the system volume per day. Particulate and dissolved nutrients are removed and concentrated by the water treatment and can be used efficiently in following processes.

By constructing food chains, which can be also seen as product chains, the profitability of aquaculture production can be increased sustainably. Remaining nutrients are used to gain new, valuable biomass, as for instance algae or invertebrates. The reuse of nutrients promotes an efficient utilization of resources and minimizes the environmental impact. The additionally gained biomass increases economic diversification and can raise the profit per production unit.

I15

ADVANTAGES

There is no doubt in the increasing significance of aquaculture to feed the rapidly growing world population. Since 1970 the marine aquaculture is growing approximately 9% per year and it’s percentage of total aquaculture was growing from 2% in 1970 to about 14% in 2006. Due to this development an intensification of aquaculture is to be expected. Small scale systems may survive in market niches but make not a substantial contribution to the global fish supply. Some forecasts have the same opinion for the fisheries.

Even if aquaculture allows a compensation of the decreasing fishing yield, the expansion of aquaculture production is possible only by use of innovative concepts. The oceanloop technology, developed by neomar, offers a trendsetting alternative.

In comparison to open water aquaculture systems, the farming of seafish in land- based recirculating aquaculture systems offers several competitive advantages. There is an increasing demand for high-quality, standardized and fully traceable fish products. The oceanloop technology satisfies this demand and fullfills the criteria of sustainable and environment-friendly fish farming due to a comprehensive energy and material recycling. The technology allows worldwide business concepts with unique selling propositions.

I16

CONTROLLED PRODUCTION

The oceanloop is independent from environmental conditions. Therefore, it can be optimally adjusted to the biology of farmed species. The constant conditions guarantee an improved growth, as well as a customer specific product quality and availability. The operating supplies are well-defined and fully traceable.

Furthermore, the controlled farming of seafish allows the adjustment of product quality to the needs of the market. Beside the farmed species, also the market size, meat texture or the nutritional value of the fish can be influenced. The possibilities are diverse and can be adjusted to the needs of customers.

Farming fish in recirculating aquaculture systems has the potential of becoming the standard for a safe aquatic food production. Due to a continuous water treatment, the fish waste is efficiently removed. The nutrient-rich waste, which leads to environmental problems in open aquaculture systems, is reusable in recirculating aquaculture systems.

CONSUMER PROXIMITY

In terms of consumer protection and freshness the oceanloop technology will set new benchmarks. The fish is only taken from the production on demand, professionally anesthetized and cooled down in less than an hour to a temperature around 0°. Packed in ice, the fish reaches the customer with one-of-a-kind freshness. In doing so, the market value, the product safety and the shelf life at the customer is increased considerably.

Also the induced enrichment of toxins, such as saxi- and ciguatoxins, in marine organisms within food chains, which is developing into a growing problem in many parts of the world, can be safely eliminated. Similarly, the assimilation of environmental poisons, such as heavy metals or dioxins, which lead to problems in natural fish production, as well as open aquaculture systems, can be safely eliminated by the traceability of all operating supplies.

I17

FLEXIBILITY

The concept of flexible basin segmentation by moveable net walls enables modification of the aspired market size at short notice as well as a change to new species. Basin separations can be added, removed or changed in size easily. This is a significant advantage to use market niches or to react on the needs of the customers. Similarly, it is possible to switch a production module to a new target species.

Furthermore, the water treatment technology enables the highest water quality. From a technological point of view, there are almost no limits regarding the biological requirements of different fish species. This corporate flexibility leads to a competitive aquaculture production.

I18

SUSTAINABILITY

International demands by the society for the proof of sustainability of novel developments are ever increasing. The term sustainability can be regarded as model for a future-orientated development that includes the gentle treatment of resources. Sustainable management of aquaculture predominantly includes the efficient utilisation of land, water, genetic resources, energy and feedstuff. At the same time the processes used have to comply with ecologic and social demands.

RESOURCE USE

The oceanloop stands for careful use of natural resources such as land, water, energy, food or natural areas. The production of aquatic organism in land-based systems has the potential of using natural resources considerably more efficiently than terrestrial livestock husbandry systems.

LAND

The oceanloop is characterized by an efficient land use. For customers this means low land costs and allows production in well-developed and logistically favorable areas.

WATER neomar is currently the only company worldwide, which offers the inland production of seafish without access to natural sea water. Therefore, the fish is farmed in artificial seawater. Thus, there is already an economic interest in reducing this matter of expense, as much as technologically possible.

I19

The independence of coastal areas was the reason for a further development of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) to an almost completely closed water circulation. The water renewal rate in the oceanloop due to operational losses is below 1% of the system volume per day. It does not require any seawater for diluting or discharge waste from the system, as it is completely removed by the water treatment. Only water losses due to the solid separation process and discharge of sludge have to be balanced with artificial seawater. Water losses due to evaporation are balanced with freshwater.

ENERGY

Energy efficiency was a main objective of the oceanloop development, as it strongly influences the profitability of recirculating aquaculture systems.

In terms of climate management, forms and amount of energy used in the farm have to be optimized, concerning ecological and economical factors. This has to be done in close cooperation with the customer, because investment strategy, as well as site-related factors must be considered.

In particular, the use of renewable energy (such as geothermal or solar heat) and/or waste heat are in the focus of development. Biogas plants, steelworks and landfills can be named as examples here. For the first time, the unique feature of farming seafish wherever you are enables a successful implementation of these concepts also for marine aquaculture.

I20

FEEDING STUFF

In comparison to terrestrial animal husbandry, fish stands out for a very good feed conversion. This underlines the future potential and sustainability of aquaculture.

Furthermore, feed conversion in the oceanloop is as a rule better than in open aquaculture systems, as the environmental conditions can be well controlled.

Nevertheless, a huge part of nutrients is excreted in dissolved and particulate forms and the physiological limit of feed optimization seems to have been reached for many fish species. However, these nutrients can be reused by secondary organism, in so-called integrated aquaculture concepts. These ideas of nutrient recycling are in the focus of our research and development.

GENETIC RESSOURCES

A crucial success factor for aquaculture is the possibility to reproduce the farmed species artificially. The independence of wild stocks is not only indispensible for ecological reasons, but also means economic sustainability. neomar technology enables the farming of disease-free parental fish stocks in bio- secure systems. Our know-how and our technology are applicable in the areas of artificial reproduction, egg breeding, larvae rearing and fry production.

NUTRIENT RECYCLING

Results from various aquaculture systems show, that a huge part of nutrients in fish diets is excreted in dissolved and particulate form. The physiological limits to optimize the nutrition of fish diets, in order to improve the feed conversion, seem to have been reached for many fish species. The technology of the oceanloop enables the recycling of these nutrients, as they can be reused by so-called secondary organisms, which are produced in addition to the target species (primary organism).

I21

The integration of fish production with secondary organism provides serveral opportunities. The dissolved nutrients, such as primarily nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, can be used by algae or aquaponics. The particulate nutrients, such as fecal matter and food remains are used by invertebrates, which filter them (e.g. mussels) or feed them from the ground (e.g. polychaetes or sea cucumbers). Artificial wetlands represent a mixed form, in which the biology is left to itself and develops its own, complex food webs.

The additionally gained biomass can be used either directly (food additives, larvae rearing and fry production) or indirectly (energy gain through fermentation).

In the future integrated aquaculture systems will define the state of the art, as they ensure an extensive recycling of nutrients and energy. These systems reduce the environmental impact and improve the profitability of aquaculture.

CONSERVATION

In the last decades marine aquaculture (mariculture) has grown at an average of 9% per year. Considering the rising demand for fish and the over-exploitation of global fish stocks, a further growth of mariculture is not in doubt. However, the growth of conventional mariculture systems along the coasts will be limited and the future demand can be only satisfied by new concepts and technologies.

Conventional mariculture systems, as for instance cage farms, represent a potential danger for the surrounding ecosystems, if planning and management are insufficient. Cages for fish farming (e.g. Salmon, Seabream or Seabass) along the coasts are criticized more and more by the public. The arguments against these systems continue to be the pollution by waste and nutrients, the escape of farmed fish, the possibility of transmitting diseases to wild populations and the discharge of operating supplies.

The environmental aspect must be also considered from another point of view. According to a statistic from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) about the anthropogenic influences on coastal areas by urbanization and industrialization, nearly 80% of European coasts are classified as endangered. The worldwide

I22

increasing use and pollution of coastal areas is leading to considerable site problems for aquaculture, which can also be negatively influenced by other users.

Therefore, the future development of mariculture will focus on land-based recirculating aquaculture systems. These enable an intensive and therefore efficient production of aquatic organisms. At the same time the coastal ecosystems are protected.

I23

REFRENCES

The neomar GmbH is a spin-off from the Sander Holding, one of the leading companies for the development and construction of water treatment units for marine land-based recirculating systems worldwide and has 50 years of experience in this area. The systems reach volumes up to several thousand cubic meters which are operated inland without access to natural seawater.

MARINE AQUARIUMS

Many public and private aquariums use components, expertise and concepts of Sander which have stand the test of time since 1972 with the construction of the first marine recirculating system in an aquarium in North Germany. Sander has played an active role in shaping marine aquariums, for instance in Berlin, Oberhausen, Hannover, Constance, Warsaw, Porto, Lake Garda, Bergen or Moscow. These systems are operated with artificial seawater and a very low water exchange. Exchange rates of 1% of the system volume per day are now the standard.

I24

Some of our customers:

Merlin Entertainments (SEA LIFE) Oceanário Lissabon

Ozeaneum Stralsund Aquarium Oldenburg

Aquarium Hagenbeck Hamburg Sylt Aquarium Westerland

Aquarium Kiel Inatura Dornbirn

Zoo Aquarium Berlin Zoo Antwerpen

IFM-GEOMAR Kiel Ocean Park Valencia

Multimar Wattforum Tönning House of Nature Salzburg

Zoo Wien Cité de la Mer Cherbourg

Zoo Leipzig Aquarium Genua

Marine Aquarium Osterholz Seal-Station Friedrichskoog e.V.

Marine Aquarium Zella-Mehlis Tropicarium Kolmården

RESEARCH &DEVELOPMENT

The expertise of Sander was utilized in cooperation with scientific institutions to develop the innovative oceanloop concept: land-based, marine recirculating systems which can be operated inland without access to natural seawater.

The feasibility of this technology has been proven by several research and demonstration systems. The production system PISA, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), has been operated for 7 years under scientific supervision by the IFM-GEOMAR in Uetze/Eltze (Hannover region) and has delivered significant findings for the inland production of seafish.

I25

Actually we join several aquaculture research projects. Please contact our website to receive an updated overview: http://www.neomar.de/en/research-and- development/.

MARINE FISHFARM VÖLKLINGEN

Since 2013 the Marine Fishfarm Völklingen (MFV) operates on a previous coking plant site in Völklingen-Fürstenhausen. There the technology is used for the first time in a large-scale commercial farm for the land-based production of seafish. The MFV produces marine fish species as European sea bass, Gilthead seabream, Russian sturgeon and Yellowtail kingfish. In four independent production lines approximately 650 tons of fish can be produced per year.

A research and develoment farm is also in operation in order to use it for research and education together with the College of Technology and Economy of the Saarland (HTW). The already initiated research projects are embedded in a comprehensive national and international network of excellence.

I26

IMPRINT

Am Osterberg 22 D-31311 Uetze-Eltze phone: +49 5173-971 15-0 fax: +49 5173-971-19-7

Web: http://www.neomar.de Email: [email protected]

Hildesheim district court; HRB 202370

General manager: Dr. Bert Wecker, Rolf Meng

I27